Knitting-machine



(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet J. H. REED.

KNITTING MACHINE. No. 435,449. Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

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Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

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J. H. REED.

KNITTING MACHINE. No. 435,449.

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\ei. a f J 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. REED, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,449, datedSeptember 2, 1890.

Application filed November 3, 1888- Serial No. 289,921. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. REED, of Lynn, county of Essex, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inKnitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to thedrawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, inwhich Figure 1 is an elevation of a machine constructed in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan looking down from line 00 ac,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of part of the machine, showing themanner of mounting and actuating the loopers. Fig. 4 is a plan of thelooper-cain.

The object of my invention is the production of a knitting-machine whichwill not only knit a sock or similar article, but will at the same timetuft the inside of the sock that is, knit into the work an extra threadand draw that thread into a series of loops or tufts, thus producing asock or other article of extra weight and warmth.

My invention, as shown in the accompanying drawings, is applied to acommon form of circular-knitting machine; and it consists, chiefly, in acircular head or disk which is rigidly secured above the center of theneedle-cylinder, said head or disk being provided with a series ofloopers placed opposite the spaces between the needles, and beingactuated by a revolving cam secured to a yoke which supports the yarnand which revolves with the needle-cam cylinder of the machine.

My invention also consists in certain details .of construction andarrangement, all of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

I will describe my invention as it is embodied in the machine shown inthe accompanying drawings, using like letters of reference to indicatelike parts throughout the same.

A represents the needle-cam cylinder, and B the needle-cylinder, of acircular-knitting machine.

0 represents the yoke, the downwardlyprojecting ends of which aresecured in proshaft D is secured to the part b of the yoke by set-screwsc, Fig. 1,so that as the yoke revolves with the needle-cam cylinder thehollow shaft D will revolve with it. On the lower end of the shaft D acam-disk d is secured, the under side of the disk (1 being provided witha cam-path c, Fig. 4, which receives the upper ends of the loopers f,and which acts to operate the loopers as the cam revolves. The cam-diskd carries at one side a plate (1,

the inner end of which forms the sharply curved or operative portion ofthe cam-slot c. This plate d may he slid inwardlyor outwardly by meansof a lever g, Fig. 2, pivoted on top of the disk 51, so that when themachine is used on plain work and the loopers are not required tooperate the plate (1 may be slid outwardly, so that it will not bear onany of the loopers and the loopers will not be actuated, but will all beleft with their lower ends inside of the needles and clear of the work.

Inside of the hollow shaft D a vertical rod E projects downwardly froman upright framepiece F, which stands on a projection of the base G ofthe machine, and which is bent at its upper end, so as to bring itsupper end,where the rod E is secured to it, over the center of theneedle-cylinder. The upper end of the support F is Y-shaped, and the rodE is secured between the ,arms h h of the Y by means of set-screws j andclamping-nuts k. The greater portion'of the support F is not shown,being directly behind the machine, as shown in Fig. 1.

On the lower end of the rod E a disk or head H, Fig. 3, is secured bymeanso-f a setscrew Z. The periphery of the disk H is slotted, as shownat m, Fig. 3, and in each slot a looper f is pivoted at n. By thisarrangement the lower ends of the loopers, which are bent outwardly andprovided with hooks, may be swung outwardly and inwardly between theneedles. The shape of the loopers will be clear from Fig. 3. The yarnwhich is used to tuft the work is shown at p, and is delivered through acarrier or delivery-tube g, which is set below the regular deliverytubeof the machine and in the same standard and acts to deliver thetufting-yarn outside of the needles and beneath or in front of theloopers as they are in their outward positions, so that on ICO theirmovement inwardly they catch the tufting-yarn and draw it into a loopbetween the needles. As the needle passes downwardly, the tufting-yarnis knit into the work, and the inwardly-projecting loop of tufting-yarnis held by the looper inside the inner face of the work. Immediatelyafter a looper has moved inwardly to form a loop the needle precedingthe loop moves downwardly, knitting one end of the loop into the work.To allow this needle to move downwardly without unduly straining thetufting-yarn, the looper is allowed to slack up slightly, and this iseffected by widening the cam-path e, as shown at 12 Fig. 4. In Fig. 4two of these widened ,portions in the cam-path are shown, one on eachside of the operating part of the cam, this construction admitting ofthe reversal of the cam, if necessary or desirable. The upper end of thelooper is at this widened portion of the cam-path when the loop is to beslackened, so that as the needle passes down the looper yields slightlyand relieves the yarn from undue strain. As one looper has substantiallycompleted its inward movement before the succeeding looper bears on theyarn, there is no extra strain on the yarn in forming the loops ortufts. At the next revolution of the machine the looper is again movedupwardly and outwardly, freeing itself. readily from the preceding tuftor loop. .As the looper mechanism is located above the needles, it doesnot in any way interfere with the operation of knitting or taking thework from the machine.

As the yarn must travel around with the carriers or delivery-tubes, Ihave provided spindles set on the yoke C for the reception of theyarn-bobbins J, while on the upper part of the sleeve D are securedprojecting arms, over which the yarn is guided and on which are arrangedtake-ups, which take care of any slack in the yarn and maintain theproper tension. The take-up consists of weights a which are free to movevertically in cases (1 secured to the sleeve D, as shown, Fig. 1. Theseweights are provided with hooks, as w, by which they may be suspendedfrom the yarn ,by the operator whenever a slack occurs, as in knittingthe heel or toe of a sock. In the drawings, Fig. 1, the weights a are shown in the position which they occupy when placed on the yarn and beforethey have acted to draw the yarn taut. The springs hitherto used astake-ups do not maintain a uniform tension on the thread, since if theslack is slight the spring acts more strongly than if there is moreslack. By the use of weights this objection is overcome and uniformtension maintained.

It will be observed by reference to Figs. 3 and 4 that the grooved camwhich operates the loopers f is of such construction that each of theloopers, afterdrawing in a loop of yarn to form a tuft,remains in duringnearly an entire revolution of the cam, and thus holds its tuft until itis firmly set in the work by the knitting of nearly an entire round orcourse, and preventing any of the tufts from being pulled out whensubsequent tufts are formed. The tufting-loops must be drawn in one at atime, else the yarnwill be strained or broken, and by employinglooper-levers, which are pivoted between their ends and operated by acamwhich engages them above their pivots and which is constructed to givethema quickthrow, I am enabled to operate these levers with properrapidity to elfect this result, even when the loopers are arrangedbetween all of the needles, as shown. The throw of the hooks of theloopers is preferably somewhat greater than the length of the loops ortufts which they make, so that they begin to move inward before theyengage the tufting-yarn.

It is not essential that the delivery-tube for the tufting-yarn shouldbe directly underneath and in line with the delivery-tube for theknitting-yarn, except in narrowing in, as in knitting a heel or toe. Insuch case, however, the delivery-tubes require to be in line, and Iprefer. therefore, to place them in that position. The yoke C may haveeither two downwardly-projecting supports or it may have more, and itmay also be provided with more than two spindles or studs for bobbins,and so be adapted to carry more than two bobbins of yarn. As will beobvious, the number of loopers employed may be diminished, diminishingthe number of tufts or loops produced on the work.

I do not desire to limit my invention to circular machines, as it may beapplied to straight machines.

I am aware that a looping attachment for knitting-machines-whereintuft-forming loopers consisting of levers pivoted at their upper endsand operated by a cam-plate be tween the fulcra of said levers and theirlooping-ends is old; but with such construction of parts thelooping-levers were so long and the parts were so arranged that thedevice was much more cumbersome than with my looping mechanism with thelooping-levers pivoted between their ends and operated by a cam engagingtheir upper ends, this construction and arrangement of parts beingcompact, with comparatively short loopinglevers, admitting of high speedwith but little friction.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with the operative parts of aknitting-machine, of a series of loopers supported above the needles andpivoted between their ends, and an actuating-cam for saidloopersarranged above the latter engaging portions thereof above theirpivots and constructed to move the lower ends of the said loopersinwardly and outwardly between the said needles, substantially as shownand described.

2. The combination, with the operative parts of a knitting-machine, of aseries of loopers supported above the needles and piv- IIO oted betweentheir ends, and an actuatingcam for said loopers provided with one ormore widened portions, as 17 adjacent to the operating part of the saidcam, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a knitting-maohine,the combination, with the needle-cam cylinderA, of a stationary head or disk, as H, supported above saidcam-cylinder, a series of loopers, as f, pivoted between their ends tosaid head or disk, and a rotating cam engaging said loopers above theirpivots and constructed to move the lower ends of the same in and outbetween the needles of the machine, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. In a knitting-machine, the combination, with the needle-cam cylinderA, of the yoke 0, carried thereby, the stationary support F, the rod E,secured to said support, the head or disk H, attached to said rod abovesaid cylinder, the loopers f, pivoted between their ends to said head ordisk, the hollow shaft D, attached to said yoke, and the cam d, carriedby said shaft and engaging the upper ends of said loopers, substantiallyas shown and 25 described.

JAMES H. REED, Witnesses:

WM. A. MAoLEoD, R. WALLACE.

